Animal Rights in Spiritualism is holding a Healing and holistic therapies session from 1.30-4.30 pm this Saturday, 20th February, at St. Leonard’s Church, Valley Road, Spital.

A small donation is asked in the tin to cover costs of hire and vegan refreshments. Anything left over will go to fund A.R.I.S. and general animal rights leaflets, printing etc.

Patrick Rattigan N.D. will be available on request for free cancer and other medical conditions advice.

We will hold animal distant healing (bring photo of your animal) light-working for animal causes and group self-healing meditation for the first hour, then one to one healing/therapies for the remaining two hours.

We are holding a meeting for Animal Rights in Spiritualism cum Chesterfield Animal Rights local supporters from 1.30-2.30 on Sat 30th January at St. Leonards Church, Valley Road, Spital, Chesterfield, in order to give out this year’s activities and welcome new supporters.

Support independent natural health unit as part of the new Chesterfield cancer centre?

Patrick Rattigan N.D. will talk briefly about the new cancer centre for Chesterfield during the meeting and open short discussion on what we, as members of the public, want to be available in the way of natural, holistic support.

There will be a full talk , film and discussion on the subject for all interested parties at a later date.

Need healing?

This month’s meeting is followed by Reiki, Spiritual and other forms of healing from 2.30-4.30 when Patrick will also be available for natureopathic and nutritional advice and cancer support.

You are welcome to both as ARIS supporters but if you only want to attend one or the other that is fine.

Members of the public, friends , etc., are welcome to receive healing. Feel free to bring any interested parties along.

Refreshments will be available.

Small donations asked to cover cost of hall. Anything over goes to ARIS funds for leaflets, printing etc.

We hope to hold this session bi- monthly after that but instead of an A.R. meeting for the first hour, the whole session will be a healing workshop run by me, Elissa Rattigan, as Reiki teacher, but other forms of spiritual/ natural healing may be available also in the last two hours by various healers .

The donations will still go to costs of hall and Animal Rights in Spiritualism funding. There will be vegan/ animal rights/ spiritual leaflets etc., freely available at all meetings.

” We learn a lot from animals. They are a part of the scheme of life and should have respect and regard; one should always have love and affection for them. And it is not only domesticated animals that exist here by any means, because there are many forms of animal life, which in their own fashion and their own way are quite developed; they have feelings and emotions and great understanding, even when on Earth.”

Spirit communicator Douglas Conacher

(From the Leslie Flint direct voice tapes.)

Well, I suspect that many of you, although not catholic, have hoped that the present pope, given his adopted name, will see an end to some of the barbaric practices taking place in Catholic countries such as Spain and Portugal which involve immense cruelty to our beloved fellow creatures in celebration of religious festivals.

Reading, again, an article written by Rev. Andrew Linzey entitled “Why the Catholics turned their back on St. Francis” in The Sunday Times, 30th October 1994, it is easy to understand how little hope there was for change back then.

The article began “It is not a sin to beat a dog or leave it to starve to death.”argued the Archbishop of Udine in eastern Italy, in a Christmas sermon, in 1988.

Andrew Linzey went on to quote the latest edition of the Catholic Catechism:

“The catechism re-affirms that all animals are made for human use. Causing needless suffering is wrong but only where it offends human dignity” It also mentioned it being wrong to spend money on animals “… that as a priority it should go to the relief of human misery.”

Now, I must point out, that, growing up as a Catholic in England, I was never taught the like.. and the Catholics whom I knew, loved and treated their companion animals very well.

In my family, it was unthinkable that our beloved dogs would not go to ‘Heaven’ and my grandfather ( please take into consideration that he was born in 1901) had always refused to eat veal on compassionate grounds, claiming it was akin to torturing and killing children. As a young and poor man, he had always fed and bedded his cart-horse lovingly before , after a very long day’s hawking, he would even consider relieving his own hunger or taking rest.

However, in spite of the kindness of ordinary Catholics and priests towards our fellow creatures, my ears often caught a remark from the pulpit which taught the congregation that, as humans, they were above all other life-forms by reason of the fact that they had souls and the latter didn’t. Pope Pious 12th was in office at that time but in these last decades both Pope John and the present pope have announced to the contrary, which gives us hope of change – in the hearts of their many faithful, worldwide.

You may wonder why, in a mainly Spiritualist newsletter, I am spending so much time on the above, but we are also an animal rights organisation and the future lives and deaths of so many creatures depends upon firstly, whether or not the present pope takes his name-sake seriously and shows the same concern for their suffering as he does for the “poor” among humans , secondly that he sets an example in his own life and thirdly that he promotes veganism, as the right and humane diet for mankind.

With all this in mind, I have written a letter to Pope Francis which I hope will inspire readers to write their own to the pontiff.

( The Vatican is a nation in itself so there is no need to write “Italy” )

Here is my letter to Pope Francis:

Dear Your Holiness Pope Francis,

I am pleased to hear that, having taken your papal name in honour of St. Francis of Assisi, you are making it your mission to help the poor. However, St. Francis is also known for his equally passionate stance on the rights of all creatures – animals, insects, fish, plants, Mother Earth and the other planets alike. He took this further by promoting not only our kindness to, but protection of, all living things.

“Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough.

We have a higher duty – to be of service to them, whenever they require it.”

St Francis of Assisi. 1181-1226.

As the true humane, Essene Jesus before him, Francis was probably one of the first animal liberationists, having saved lambs from slaughter. I would hope to be sure that, having chosen his name-sake, you will , inspired by his compassion, be an instrument of the Great Spirit of God and Saviour of billions of animals who face misery, torture and pain in farms, slaughterhouses, laboratories, etc., by your living and promoting Veganism .

By many following your example and adopting a vegan diet, benefits will be brought to human health, starving nations and the planet, itself.

“Livestock is the main driver of de-forestation.

Livestock is the largest single source of water pollution.

Livestock produces more green-house gases than all the world-wide transportation combined.”

United Nations “Livestocks’ Long Shadow” 2006.

“Meat consumption is an inefficient use of grain”

”…the grain is used more efficiently when consumed by humans. Continued growth in meat output is dependent on feeding grain to animals, creating competition for grain between affluent meat-eaters and the world’s poor.”

Worldwatch Institute.

A piece of land the size of five football pitches can feed only two people fed on meat. But it can feed ten people on maize, twenty four people on grains or sixty one on soya.”

Viva.

I know other bodies have written to you regarding the above and have submitted films such as “Earthlings” which show the extent of mans’ cruelty to animals so I have no need to do the same. I will just add that we see you as the one person able to have influence in this regard over, at least, the many Catholics throughout the world. Just think of the difference you could make with that power. We await with baited breath, as there has never, in many generations, been an opportunity like this. We thank you in advance.

Now I turn to matters essentially Catholic, celebrated by your priests and which I would like you to deal with without delay. I speak of those fiestas which are surely the work of evil force, where bulls have their horns set alight and are then chased through the streets by gleeful people and clergy and of the pitiful spectacles of live goats being thrown from belfry tops, again sanctioned by the Church. Surely this is something you could ban straight away as a matter of priority. Thank you.

As I’ve mentioned the cruelty which takes place at religious festivals in Spain and Portugal each year, I should also mention A.R.I.S. Contact in Liverpool, Susan Taylor, who is devoted to the campaign against such barbarism.

A Pagan, Susan works inwardly with the Light to try and bring protection for the bulls who, each November in the “Toro de Fuego” fiesta have their horns set alight with wax and paraffin before being chased through the streets . Fireworks may also be attached to their horns.

These bulls suffer agony and have been seen banging their heads ferociously against walls to relieve the pain.

Spain’s animal welfare law allows animals to be treated badly if it’s necessary for the fiesta to run smoothly.

In the fiesta of Manganeses de la Polyorosa, a live goat is thrown from a church tower or belfry top. Should it still be alive when it reaches the bottom, it is drowned.

These are just two examples of unbelievable cruelty taking place out of many at these fiestas which run throughout the year, unbelievably including St. Francis’s day!

Our Surrey contact, Therese McElwee, has even further information on the subject, which a stay in Spain prompted her to research.

Therese was horrified to find that many towns and villages put on “blood” fiestas and had a bull-ring. Apparently, the government is against them and fine the towns in question. However, the mayor may collect the 2000 euro before the fiesta which, of course, still goes ahead.

Therese decided to email all the Spanish estate agents, explaining why her family would not buy in Spain. Amazingly, the few who replied, said they were not aware of the cruelty taking place in these fiestas. After that, they were sent the appropriate gruesome information on that, along with a petition to help the Spanish hunting dogs.

Now, I do not intend to single out the Catholic religion, as there are the Franciscan monks and Catholic priests who work tirelessly to end all of this abuse. Neither do I point a finger at Spanish speaking countries when we, in the U.K., had to fight to ban hunting with hounds. I find it difficult not to judge the perpetrators of these acts, whichever nationality they are, as I care about animals . However, targeting the Pope and the cruelties of the said countries is purely a matter of timing, as regards the papal name of St Francis and the opportunity to influence the billions of Catholics throughout the world into equalling a belief in God with a desire to be kind to all living things.

Most readers will be aware that Animal Aid campaigned and petitioned for CCTV in slaughterhouses and also that undercover filming evidence of shocking animal abuse in these places hit our T.V. Screens as prominent news a few months ago.

Around the same time, Hillside Animal Sanctuary reported that, despite their eight week investigation, bringing one hundred and fifty hours of extreme cruelty undercover footage at The Red Lion abattoir in Nantwich, the Crown Prosecution Service dropped charges against the five individuals who carried out these breaches of animal welfare standards.

Hillside later learned that only thirty minutes of their film had been viewed by the Food Standards Agency.

This means we must campaign to make sure that any laws passed of this kind are actually upheld and not just in place for cosmetic reasons .

Vivisection.

The front-line group fighting vivisection , Stop Huntington Animal Cruelty, better known as SHAC halted its campaign aginst Huntington Life Sciences laboratories last summer, claiming it had done what it set out to do.

Amongst other achievements, SHAC had crippled the company financially by letting all its customers know what went on inside the premises, which would appear to be a hell-hole for the poor creatures being experimented upon there. Upon discovering the truth, many of these customers pulled out of business with H.L.S. whose staff were caught on film punching Beagle puppies. The footage was gained in an undercover investigation undertaken some years ago by those brave enough to take up employment at the laboratories.

For SHAC activists, it was made clear that the fight still goes on on many other fronts but that this particular campaign was over. We pay tribute to all those who cared enough about animals to risk their freedom to bring them liberation.

“Vivisection is the blackest of all the black crimes that man is at present committing against God and his animal creation.”

Ghandi.

As from November 20th of last year, research charities now have to swear an oath to publicly support vivisection in order to belong to the Association of Medical Research Charities .

One member of A.M.R.C, who will have no problem with that, is the infamous Cancer Research U.K. charity whose Chairman is noted for having once said on the subject of organic farming:

“Organic food is highly toxic, … sticking to an organic regime just puts plants under greater and greater strain – and life for farmers in the UK is only going to get more difficult as the result of organic farming.”

What a thing for one concerned with health matters to say! My husband, Patrick, a naturopath of over forty years, wrote:

“The incidence, severity, control and remission of cancer is multi-factorial ; overwhelmingly, the major factor is the presence of or the lack of organically-grown – raw – plant foods .”

Animal Aid have a campaign running which exposes the cruelty of the animal experiments funded by such charities as Cancer Research U.K. and British Heart Foundation.

Elsie, an ARIS supporter in Devon, has singularly campaigned against the latter. One tactic which brought some success was to complain to Safety and Licensing Environmental Health and Consumer Protection about the unauthorised street collections by the local branch of B.H.F. The council eventually told the charity that they could collect inside their shop but would have to get a licence to do so outside, which put paid to their daily leafleting of the streets and the many new, donating supporters that may have brought them . Well done, Elsie!

Positive news – There are 187 medical schools in Canada and the U.S.A. 183 no longer use live animals in education. – information from The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Please give special attention to a great campaigner and A.R.I.S. Supporter, Janet Williams of Portsmouth, whose mother , Pamela Williams , has passed over since the last newsletter.

Pat’s Points.

Sorry , Hippocrates : NHS : why the dream failed .

by Patrick Rattigan

Photo by Best DSC!

In 1948, a group of, apparently , well-meaning individuals founded the British National Health Service in the belief that the reason that people were sick was lack of treatment : when the public were exposed to the free benefits of the range of modern medicine , the people would become well : the cost of the NHS would decline .

In 1950 the NHS cost £350 million : the monetary-inflationary equivalent, of this, today, is around £12 billion : a tenth of what the national disease money-pit is now swallowing : the nation’s health has deteriorated constantly and remorselessly since day-one of the NHS . As there is nothing wrong with the concept of a nationalized health facility, this leaves the practice , orthodox medical practice – allopathy . Allopathy : symptom suppression and removal with the synthetic drug , the scalpel , radiation .. the medicine of the opposites ; of antidepressives, antihypertensives, antipyretics, anticoagulants, antivirals .. anti-everything … : of statins and steroids : the medicine of multiple, invasive “tests” : the medicine of The War on Disease ; using the human body as a passive battlefield, often trashed in the process : the medicine of the Germ Theory and a multi-billion-dollar empire of vaccines, antibiotics, antiseptics, antibacterials and disinfectants : the medicine of safety and efficiency tests on rodents, dogs, cats, goats, fish .. whatever..

The magic 1 billion UK drug prescriptions per year mark was passed in 2008 : 20 to 30 doses each day , each one chasing the “side” effects of the previous, is common . The record , as far as I know, is held by doctors at the Sheffield childrens’ hospital who prescribed 50 different items to a young girl , diagnosed with ” leukaemia”. As the child survived , despite the huge synthetic onslaught , I think that we can refer to the understandably-anonymous NCI scientist who stated “I wouldn’t be surprised if they are curing a lot of leukaemia that didn’t exist”.

Allopathy , under its curious title of Modern Medicine or , even , Science-Based-Medicine , is the world’s largest religion but its High Priests, its low priests , acolytes , disciples.. and The Faithful , generally , are not familiar with the word allopathy , which , in its natural home, the USA , was in danger of disappearing, altogether . From the earliest times , many people had become disenchanted with its practices : drilling holes in peoples’ heads to let demons escape had become out of fashion but things got much worse, if less spectacular . However , it has to be said that the allopaths were fair : for instance , the world’s most powerful man did not receive any special favours : President George Washington presented with a sore throat and was advised by his high-price allopathic team . First, they drained half of his blood – as you would : that failed to make George well . Then, they gave him 650 milligrammes of mercury – when I first read that I thought ” Surely they mean microgrammes” , which would have been bad enough : but no , it was milli . This did the trick : no more sore throat … but there was a side effect : no more President Washington .

As the empiricists,herbalists, folk-healers “came into town and got the business ” – as one allopath described it – the medical orthodoxy looked to be in terminal decline but several huge events turned everything around.

Firstly , Ol’ Pappy Rockefeller’s son , John D. and his pals decided that the oil they were taking out of the ground should be used to make everything , and this included drugs – synthetics which could be patented : then there was the creation of the American Medical Association – the doctors’ union – and its journal ; a periodical which became the most lucrative of its kind , in the world , due to the advertising revenue generated : every drug-maker , who paid for advertising , automatically had its product officially endorsed by the AMA.

Then , there was Madame Curie’s ray , which someone pointed at a tumour , which shrank – ” Cancer Cure ” and the start of a multi-billion dollar empire of “radiotherapy ” machines. Also, the allopaths saw that there was a gross under-use of surgery , which needed to be turned into a conveyor belt , removing every symptom , where possible and followed by drugs .. to counter the damage done by the surgery. The explosion of the cancer business : the tumour-attack package plus the deliberate failure of ” cancer research ” was the biggest single earner . The medical curricula were re-written : allopathy became medical science : everything else was ” quackery.”

All, of which, was to create a global , millions-in ; trillions out , totally science-free colossus : Consensus Medicine to avoid litigation : medicine by the book, whether or not the treatment was useless or worse than useless : whatever the cost or consequences to the patient or the tax-payer:

Modern Medicine would be laughed out of a court of science if it were ever so foolish as to enter such a place but it is not required to do so. Apart from its political friends, a small army of painfully-transparent on-the-payroll media plants, trying to pass themselves off as “science editors”, “medical correspondents”, “health writers” provide a regular supply of “medical breakthroughs” and regular attacks on what they call “ alternative medicine.”

Patient Welfare is not in the NHS equation : the patient is a funnel through which pours billions of tax pounds to the ruthless operators of the disease cartel .

We could not afford Modern Medicine : if it worked .

Farming.

I arrived at my yoga class one spring-like afternoon with a lady I share my bus journey with. We commented on the lovely snowdrops nearby and the crocuses we’d seen. Then the lady, named Joan, said triumphantly

“I saw my first lamb the other day.”

I boldly but politely added:

“Yes they are lovely, aren’t they? Pity about what will happen to them, isn’t it?”

To my surprise, she responded with concern, as though she had already been pondering over their fate.

Perhaps there are many like Joan, who just need a bit more information here and a few choice pictures left around there, in order for them to be tipped over the edge, out of their dream consciousness into the nightmarish reality our sheep and lambs face on a regular basis.

The group, VIVA is uncovering the truth, which is, that twenty per cent of all new born lambs die of hypothermia and that they have their tails docked, sometimes with hot irons or knives and often, with no anaesthetic used! Their mothers are so stressed that they moult when the weather is wint’ry and in low lying areas, get foot rot which is very painful.

I pass fields full of sheep where I can see no place of shelter from extreme sunlight or from harsh conditions of bitter cold, heavy snow or rain. I hear the pitiful cries at Monday market of the lambs in the pens being sold for slaughter or to other farms. In either case they are separated from their mothers and all they have known. I have seen older ones just about thrown from one pen to another and I, as you must have done, have heard the cries of bewilderment and despair, as both sheep and cows, left behind, wail none-stop for their children. There is no mistaking Market day .

As VIVA points out, the television programmes aimed at celebrating Spring always show lambs at their most joyous and paint a picture of farmers as actually caring deeply about their animals. Our children are fed this constant drip of a perfect world that hides a dark realm here on Earth. Yet, we know we have to be careful how we put this distressing truth over to the little ones and to vulnerable adults. Not everyone can remain sane when presented with disturbing images, especially when they have already formed relationships with their dogs and cats. Yet, we cannot leave the matter un-exposed. Therefore, in my opinion, carefully chosen words of description manifest a safer way forward, particularly for the young, at least as a first port of call.

For those adults who , in spite of being informed of how animal produce, so detrimental to their health, reaches their plates, how the meat, fish and dairy industries are destroying our planet and us with it and how we could feed the starving of the world easily were we all to go Vegan…well, yes, stick them in a locked room for a hour in front of the most excellent , hard-hitting You-tube film “The Power of Your Vegan Plate – Guildford” by Andy Lilley, which they, somehow, can’t turn off … No, folks I’m not condoning that we indulge that secret urge but those choice pictures mentioned above could become a little ‘choicier’ and placed more liberally on display, at every occasion…and we could invite them to a film show/ coffee morning..in aid of charity……and make it the film mentioned above – it is the best yet.

“The greatest evil occurs on the astral plane due to the fear which all animals have when they enter the slaughter house. They are fully aware of danger to themselves. Their soul shudders when they are being driven to slaughter, with terrible fear which poisons the bloodstream. Their flesh, afterwards, is therefore, to all intents and purpose in a poisonous state which is transmitted to the humanity which eats it: and this lies in the physical body, the seed of many diseases, some, of which, are incurable…”

White Eagle.

What Animals Feel – Cats.

Speaking of vulnerable adults, a lady I know, again called Joan, phones me often with her worries and decision making concerns.

Joan had a little cat named Tibby, whom she adored as her only constant companion of many years. I had been kept informed regarding Tibby’s state of health which was deteriorating and last December, Joan’s beloved animal passed to Spirit.

Of course, I had always talked with Joan about what happened after death to this plane, seeing her through the passing of her brother with promises of him being aware of her feelings for him from his place in the Spirit World, their meeting again and how he would not want her to grieve for too long but that he would be made happy to see her make good of her life. Now it was time again, as she made ready to bury Tibby in the garden.

But Joan was not Tibby’s only love. For quite a while Joan had noticed her cat with a large ‘Tom’. She spoke of watching them walk down the path together, Tibby, then holding a farewell gaze until her beau had disappeared altogether, back to his home for the day. The pair often caressed each other in a seemingly more intimate way than normal feline friends. It became more and more obvious…they were in love. It wasn’t driven by sexual instinct – they were truly in love -soul-mates.

The day following Tibby’s passing, Tom arrived once more and with no appearance of his sweetheart outside, he entered Joan’s home and didn’t give up until he searched behind and under every piece of furniture downstairs, making noises and questioning stares at Joan as he did so.

The next day saw the same pattern of events, only this time Joan found his calls pitiful to hear. At last, he dashed upstairs to the bedroom where Tibby often slept and his moans were more panic-stricken. Then there was silence, as though something had finally been confirmed to his senses. Tom came downstairs past Joan and has never been back to her garden since.

Around the same time , our ARIS contact, Therese McElwee, lost her nineteen year old cat Fudgie, whom she’d had for twelve of them . As he was left in the house overnight for the other animals to pay their respects to , Bonnie , Therese’s little stunted cat who adored Fudgie, climbed on and off him, all night, in her grief.

Last year, I was so moved by a film on You Tube entitled “The Incredible Story of how Leopard, Diabolo, became Spirit” , a true account by Anna Breyenbach – animal communicator. This is what Anna intends with her work:

“I just want to share this message as much as possible without any commercial intent, personal benefit or whatsoever. All used materials and therefore copyrights do not belong to me. I hope you enjoy…”

Jurg Olsen and his wife, Karen, have run a wildlife sanctuary for predators in South Africa since 2005. There are mostly lions from such as hunting farms residing there, which they both have an incredibly good relationship with, but one animal, a snarling, dangerous black leopard named Diabolo had caused them grave cause for concern by refusing to come out of his night shelter for the six months that he had lived there.

Diabolo had been rescued from a Zoo in Europe where he had been abused and now, would not allow anyone near him. The only time Jurg got close to the cat, he was put in hospital for a week by the bite he received. It was plain to see Diabolo hated humans and was ready to kill.

It was suggested to the couple that they try using an animal communicator and Anna was recommended. At first they were very sceptical but as they were at a loss as to what else to do, they agreed to give it a try.

As soon as Anna sat quietly by his cage , Diabolo calmed down for the first time since he had arrived at the park. He told her that he was overawed by his new surroundings and that he had suffered cramped conditions where he lived beforehand. Anna realised this animal ‘s inner qualities and he told her that he had big issues with his name which meant ‘diabolical’ and that no-one appreciated him for who he truly was.

As he came to trust that Anna was here to help and was reassured by her that, at his new home, there, in the park, he would not be pressured to come out and ‘perform’ and that nothing would be expected of him but to enjoy his life as himself, he mentally voiced his concern for two young leopard cubs who had been in the next cage to him at the zoo and asked what had happened to them.

When Anna asked Jurg about this, it absolutely confirmed to him that she was indeed communicating with Diabolo because he and all the staff had forgotten about the semi-wild cubs which, indeed, were there with this leopard at the zoo . There was no way Anna could have known that information.

Later, that afternoon, Diabolo walked out of his cage into his enclosure and he was re-named Spirit. Jerk Olsen was then able to come close to him and he spoke with him out loud, while, at the same time, sending the cat thoughts and pictures as Anna had instructed him to do.

He told this transformed beast his new name and that the two cubs were safe. He went on to tell him how beautiful he was, both inside and out , as it was true that Spirit lived up to his name in every sense of it, being not only majestic and powerful physically but holding immense inner strength and wisdom. This once deadly, hateful creature answered him nineteen times that afternoon and was totally relaxed.

Anna, herself, went to check that Spirit now felt at home with his new people and he expressed his great thanks to Jerg, via Anna, that someone had actually appreciated and recognised him for who he truly was, at long last.

“…Each and everyone of you has your purpose and your goals. However, there is one important aspect of your existence that must never be forgotten. That is your creator, he who has created all living things, no matter how small, no matter how large.. While each of you is an individual, yet, you are interrelated with all things that live. Brothers and sisters, each a part of the other, each a part of creation, the universe. It is a purpose for each and every individual who walks upon the Earth, to treat others with kindness, compassion, understanding, tolerance and, above all, love….”

From “The Meaning of Life.” by The Cosmic Brotherhood.

When adog dies

(Taken from August 2014 issue of Two Worlds magazine by kind permission of editor, Tony Ortzen.)

A BRITISH Army dog killed alongside her handler in Afghanistan has been honoured with the highest military award for an animal.

Sasha, a four-year-old yellow Labrador who was trained to hunt out explosives, is credited with saving the lives of scores of soldiers and civilians.

She was awarded the PDSA’s Dickin Medal, which is the animal version of the Victoria Cross. The dog died alongside Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe in a Taliban attack.

Sasha was deployed with handlers from the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, attached to the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment. The pair was considered the best in the Kandahar region, and passed on after their routine patrol was ambushed by a rocket-propelled grenade attack.

Lance Corporal Rowe, from West Moor, near Newcastle upon Tyne, had been due to return home the day before, but stayed on to complete a planned operation because he was concerned about a lack of cover for comrades.

Sasha had fifteen confirmed finds of improvised explosive devices, mortars and hidden weaponry. To honour her, here are some lovely quotes about dogs and other animals from various sources:

You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us – Robert Louis Stevenson.

A person who has never owned a dog has missed a wonderful part of life – Bob Barker.

This soldier, I realised, must have had friends at home and in his regiment, yet he lay there deserted by all except his dog. I looked on, unmoved, at battles which decided the future of nations.

Tearless, I had given orders which brought death to thousands. Yet here I was stirred, profoundly stirred, stirred to tears. And by what? By the grief of one dog –Napoleon Bonaparte, on finding a dog beside the body of his “dead” master, licking his face and howling, on a moonlit field after a battle.

With eye upraised his master’s look to scan,

The joy, the solace and the aid of man:

The rich man’s guardian and the poor man’s friend,

The only creature faithful to the end – Steve Allen.

If there is a heaven, it’s certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own that it would take more than an archangel to detangle them –Pam Brown.

For those who love dogs, it would be the worst form of a lie to call any place where dogs were banned Paradise. Certainly no loving God would separate people from their canine friends for eternity –Stanley Coren.

Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives – John Galsworthy.

The kind man feeds his beast before sitting down to dinner – Hebrew proverb.

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated – Gandhi.

Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character; and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.

Animals are excellent role models for forgiveness . . . There is no holding back of the love – Christine Robinson.

Happiness is a warm puppy – Charles M. Schulz.

You can judge a man’s true character by the way he treats his fellow animals –Paul McCartney.

A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food. Therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral – Leo Tolstoy.

If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience – Woodrow Wilson.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened -Anatole France.

To my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being – Gandhi.

I have from an early age abjured the use of meat. The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look upon the murder of men – Leonardo da Vinci.

Animals are such agreeable friends.

They ask no questions, they pass no criticisms – George Eliot.

Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to –Alfred A. Montapert.

I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior – Hippolyte Taine.

Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet – Colette.

An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language – Martin Buber.

If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men – St Francis of Assisi.

We do not need to eat animals, wear animals or use animals for entertainment purposes. Our only defence of these uses is our pleasure, amusement and convenience – Gary L. Francione.

Animals, like us, are living souls.

They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human.

Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being – Gary Kowalski.

Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled – Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

A kitten is, in the animal world, what a rosebud is in the garden – Robert Sowthey.

If a man aspires to a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals – Leo Tolstoy.

(This next story is taken from Tony’s editorial in the April 2015 issue of Two Worlds.)

NOW here’s a fascinating tail (or do I mean tale?) from America about Cissy, a miniature schnauzer, who left home alone and found her way to hospital to visit her mum.

Nancy Franck had been at the hospital for two weeks after undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer.

One Saturday, Cissy disappeared from the back garden of their home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and walked unattended to the Mercy Medical Centre to find Nancy.

“We looked up and there was this dog just running across the lobby,” security officer Samantha Conrad told a local TV station. “We started looking at the dog’s tags and it had the address.”

“We saw how far away this dog lived, going as far as at least fifteen blocks to get here. It was quite an amazing journey that this dog made.”

The security guard phoned Nancy’s husband, Dale, who said that Cissy had been acting strangely and seemed anxious to go somewhere. The pet was missing for about four hours before the hospital called.

“Cissy wanted to go and see her mum,” said Mr Franck. “She was on a mission, but couldn’t find the right elevator to take.”

The couple’s daughter, Sarah Wood, then went to the hospital to get Cissy and took her up to see Nancy.

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Our Fallen Comrades.

Last year was a memorable year for animal liberation, losing two of its most stalwart activists , Nancy Phipps, termed by many as the “Mother of the Animal Rights Movement” and unforgettable Vesna Jones, founder of Greek Animal Rescue.

Nancy Phipps passed to the world of Spirit on the 31st May, 2014. A supporter of the Animal Liberation Front and an animal rights prisoner in the 1980s, she was the mother of Jill Phipps who died after being hit by a veal calf truck at the ‘live export’ protests in 1995.

We honour Nancy and her daughter Jill (hopefully, both re-united) for their bravery in doing all they could to protect and rescue our beloved fellow creatures.

In spite of all the courage, love and self-sacrifice shown by the Phipps family, it was one which has had more than its fair share of tragedy. In the summer of 2006, Nancy’s other daughter, Lesley, lost her partner, Gary Allen, to a sudden attack of gastroenteritis .

Some of you may remember my writing about Gary in the 2007 newsletter, as he was not only an animal activist but also an A.R.I.S. member. This very kind individual was a Reiki master and he taught this form of healing, freely, in his workshops at the animal activists annual gatherings.

Nancy Phipps grandson. Kam ,wrote a very moving tribute to her and her life, some of it spent alongside Lesley, in prison for non-violent activism. Describing his grandmother as the rock of their family, he mentioned how she was an inspiration to others and of the many animal lives she had saved.

We remember Nancy with thanks for all the hope she, her family and Gary brought to all of us who long for an end of animal suffering at the hands of our species.

I remember corresponding with Vesna Jones, regarding the passing of one of her “Greekies” as she affectionately termed her rescued animals. Although it is not widely publicised, she had a strong belief in the spirit survival of animals, having numerous experiences of their return, particularly regarding the one in question.

Vesna began Greek Animal Rescue after a holiday with husband, Paul, beginning in Crete in 1987. The holiday was spoiled by the shocking scenes of dogs, cats, horses and donkeys being left tied with no food or water and pitiful sights of the many strays, some of whom had been poisoned and left lying dead by the wayside.

After struggling for years to maintain her high standard of rescue work in spite of suffering debilitating illness , Vesna died, aged sixty , on May 15th 2014 after hospitalisation.

Thanks to the courageous efforts of one woman and the like-minds she attracted to her cause, sanctuaries were opened in Greece from which these creatures were given refuge, treated for horrific wounds and neglect, then found loving homes throughout Europe and the U.K.

All this was no thanks to many of the authorities in the country who would appear to thwart her all the way. Vesna had always fought for a sterilisation programme to be executed to prevent more strays from being subject to the horrors of their forbears but this was ignored until she campaigned for a boycott of the 2004 Olympic Games and promises were made – promises which were, sadly, not kept due to the amount of money spent on the Olympics.

Things got even worse when some Greek animal charities accused rival ones who homed abroad, (Vesna’s, it would seem) of, packing the creatures off, instead, for sale to laboratories!

Because of the good intent and loyalty of Vesna’s friends and supporters, G.A.R. still operates today, saving many lives and bringing love, peace and joy for the first time into them, as they start afresh with humans who care.

Also sign up to the search engine Every Click to raise funds for G.A.R. every time you use it. It is free of charge.

Regardless of one’s politics, most of us would respect most highly the humble yet most honourable person of the late M.P., Tony Benn, if only for his stance on animal rights issues.

As with Tony’s childhood hero, Mahatma Ghandi, something was lost to the world when, last year, on March 14th, this true gentleman passed to spirit aged 86 years. A vegetarian for many years, Tony is said to have stated that he opposed animal exploitation as much as human exploitation.

Our movement needs more politicians of his passion and calibre. Whether or not that will be achieved, we will have to wait and see but there is some hope on the horizon as, recently, I was told that we have three vegan M.P.s in the U.K. They are all in one party – Labour – but are bound to have some influence in our favour.

Last but not least of the wonderful people I wish to honour, who gave her ‘all’ to serve the animals, both wild and captive, passed to “Spirit” very early last year on 27th January, after being ill for some time from a stroke.

This was A.R.I.S. Member, Ruby Bunce. Ruby, with her sister, Rita Benson, never failed to feed the wild foxes , birds and other animals late at night, although both were in their eighties. Of course, both campaigned rigorously for animal rights and had attended ‘live export’ protests in the decades before.

Ruby had numerous psychic experiences regarding her animals and won our “Calendar” competition a few years ago.

Being the “mum” of rescued laboratory beagle, Jamie, Ruby had never been the same since his death a year earlier. Rita thought this had contributed greatly to her decline, for Jamie had gone everywhere with Ruby in his latter years. Readers may remember the remarkable story of his new beginnings with her, appearing in both the ARIS newsletter of the time and Two Worlds magazine in 2004 . This highlighted his telepathic communication through a medium, detailing his time in the laboratory and expressing his appreciation of his new home.

Now, Ruby, wonderful friend of all creatures, will be reunited with both Jamie and her husband, Eddie, who preceded the little beagle on his journey into the light.

Many thanks to existing A.R.I.S supporters, Alistair Hamilton for sales of his poetry books, Elaine Hall, William Cook, Sylvia Rose Aris and Myra Manns for their kind donations past and present and all those who support us with their friendship and personal work in aid of animals.

A few months ago, my wife and I were sharing a meal with a handful of animal activists and someone posed the inevitable question – is there any hope? Which of course meant, “Is there any hope of getting the 70 billion land animals raised for food out of their prisons, saving the oceans and their inhabitants, and slowing humankind’s race towards environmental suicide?”

Somewhat cheerfully one of the assembled vegans said, “There could be a nuclear disaster.”

“Or a terrible epidemic,” another chimed in.

“Or a huge natural catastrophe,” added a third.

I laughed and said, “And this passes for optimism in the animal rights world?”

A.R.I.S. Activities.

Over the year, we have been busy with the usual mix of street stalls (giving out leaflets and getting people to sign petitions) and light-working/healing circles.

On top of this, in the Autumn, I gave a talk entitled “The Compassionate Pathway” at the Mind, Body, Spirit event in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, run by Eric Henderson. It covered the topics of Veganism’s impact on climate change, third- world starvation, human health and of course the suffering of billions of animals in the meat and dairy industries, not to speak of that abomination – vivisection. I brought in the spiritual fall-out of slaughter and the vibrational effect on those who eat the said meat and also, added input from guides and ascended masters on all these issues.

I tried to promote the ‘positive’ and presented evidence of the true message of Jesus regarding animals, which is vastly different to accounts of the truth in the orthodox Bible and gave case histories of how serious disease had been turned around by eating raw plant foods, alone.

Explaining that Animal rights in Spiritualism is a group which works both outwardly, as in campaigning in the material world, fund-raising, petitioning, support for sanctuaries etc., and inwardly, as in animal rescue circles, healing and visualisation, I then involved the audience in a short workshop. I showed them how we use the light in order to bring about the desired effect on the spiritual level, so that our efforts in the material world for the liberation, peace, love and joy of animals, would have a head start in its manifestation.

Before opening the last fifteen minutes for questions put to both myself and Patrick, from which it could be gleaned that there was obvious interest from several people, I finished the talk with our annual visualisation for the animals.

I referred those further interested to our website where some light-working projects may be found.

Below is one of them which readers may like to try for themselves. Repeating the exercise regularly is more likely to bring results.

Consciously link to all others who may also be working on this project, for extra power. Once you have the hang of the principles of working with light and are aware that it is a power-tool in your spirit hand which can become anything you wish from healing balm to a knife to cut open fishing nets in the sea with, you can go ahead and do, on the spiritual, mental , emotional levels, what you would dearly love to do on the material level, knowing that, through your efforts, this will, one day, be brought about.

Light-Working.

Working inwardly and with the light of the Great Spirit to bring comfort and healing and/or a quick passing to the dogs and any other animals suffering immense pain and fear in commercial Chinese kitchens.

Be aware of the compassion you feel for these animals. Feel it in your heart. Give it a colour. Sense it intensifying, growing brighter and radiating outwards to fill your aura.

Turn up the brilliance. Extend it further to illumine the whole Earth and Universe until it becomes one with the light of the Great Spirit.

Using as a laser beam or spot- light, pin-point the kitchens and suppliers /breeding units of these unfortunate creatures.

Use the beam to render those being cooked, or immediately awaiting their fate, peacefully unconscious. Encourage their spirits (choose one animal per each light-working session, if easier) to move towards the greater light where help is waiting.

Go to to where the animals which are going to be used for this purpose are housed. Blast open the cage or room doors with the force of the light and keep them open. In the same way a sheepdog herds its flock of sheep, move all the animals out of captivity with the beam. Once outside, lead them in to an animal sanctuary where they are received with love by the staff and volunteers.

Leave one petition website link in the sanctuary office and one in the National Tourism Department. Illuminate them brightly so they can’t be missed.

Return your light to your heart until it is glowing deep within it. Give thanks to the Great Spirit, the Universe and your guides and angels that these thing now manifest, under grace, in Divine ways, suitable to each and all concerned.

Ethical store

We’re an independent family run business based in Derbyshire, England. We launched in January 2014 and we only stock delicious treats which are vegan (made using no animals products such as meat, gelatine, dairy and egg etc.,etc.)and are cruelty free (not tested on animals).

The next big issue for us all to deal with, regarding the furtherance of animal rights within the law, is the up and coming general election. Who do we vote for?

We know that Labour, which has three vegan MPs want to keep the hunting ban, are against a badger cull, want better protection for dogs and cats, will deal with wildlife crime associated with shooting and will ban the use of wild animals in circuses.

There is a party entitled Animal Welfare Party who has an interesting U.K manifesto which includes redirecting animal and fish farming subsidies to plant-based agriculture. Their E.U. policy seeks to end live exports, bull fighting , foie gras production and a ban on production and sale of fur. Unfortunately, this party has very little money and can only afford a few candidates. They are appealing for £1 from each animal rights campaigner and animal lover in order to help them make a big difference. You may contact them at policyunit@animalwelfareparty.org

The Green Party have the most comprehensive manifesto are promising to make welfare conditions for farm animals and fish better in some ways and promote a progressive change to plant based diets.

They will prohibit the import/ export of fur, whether from wild or farmed animals.

On the vivisection front, they plan to phase out all animal experimentation, but, amongst a host of other things, urgently see a need to ban the use of dogs cats and primates in non-medical testing and all live animals in military experiments , want to end government funding for this and introduce a system for comparing animal tests with a human biology based tests.

Refreshingly, they will prohibit import of exotic animals for the pet trade, see an end to puppy farming, a ban on hunting, snaring, shooting , coursing, stop the badger cull and prohibit the use of animals in circuses.

While aiming to protect several marine species from exploitation , they will also call upon governments to end the practice of “whaling”

The U.K. Independence Party will ban live exports but it will allow a free vote on over-turning the hunting ban.

UKIP plan to triple jail sentences for animal cruelty, with a ban on owning or looking after animals if convicted.

Whilst challenging companies on the necessity of using animals instead of alternative technology in medical experiments and drug testing, they will keep a ban on testing for cosmetics.

Installing CCTV in all abattoirs, they will also make sure formal non-stun training with certification is given to religious slaughter-men.

UKIP wants to leave the E.U. and some argue that doing so would mean our taxes do not go to fund the dreadful cultural practices of bull-fighting and those mentioned earlier in the newsletter, as the E.U. gives so much in subsidy to farms breeding animals for these purposes.

Although Animal Aid have reported that the Liberal Democrats have the most M.P.’s who have signed the E.D.M.s, I cannot find much clarity in their manifesto as regards animal rights, apart from reducing animal experiments.. They do want to tackle wildlife crime, though, as well as protecting bees and insects and designating protective areas for marine life.

The Conservatives will ban wild animals in circuses; keep a ban on cosmetic testing and promote alternatives to animal testing, but otherwise, David Cameron has promised a vote to repeal the hunting act and allow religious slaughter to continue.

So, there we are. We can, as the group Animal Aid suggests , vote for individual M.P.’s, no matter what party they represent, so long as they are going to fight for animal rights, or we can decide on the party we think has the best chance of delivering for the animals we care so much about.

( Although I do my utmost to report accurately, I am paraphrasing what I’ve read from various manifestos and sources , therefore I urge readers to scrutinize the manifestos for themselves. )